3 Year Old Still in Crib...

L.,

You are doing fine. I have a 3 1/2 year old that loved his crib. I have always had a full size bed in his room where I would rock him before going to bed so I just waited until he was ready to use it which happen just a week ago. One day he said he wanted to sleep in the big boy bed. When he woke from his nap a praised him for being a big boy and made a big deal about how proud I was of him, so now he thinks it is really cool to sleep in the bed. Most likely in the next week we will together take down the crib so he feels a part of it and reorganize his room. I believe this makes them think they have some control over their room. Good luck - T.

I just wanted to say consider youself lucky-

all of my boys could scale that badboy and DID before they were 10 months old.

good luck on the new bed- i would suggest letting HER pick out the new bed with you- so it's like she made the decision- kids transition so much better when they think its their own idea- (just like men)

Hi L., My daughter will be 4 this coming March and I just put her into a toddler bed a few weeks ago. Part of it was like you, I was waiting until she tried to get out, which she never did (and honestly, I kind of lost track of time because she never cared to climb out!). The other reason was that I was keeping the 'big girl' bed that I got at her age at my parents' house, and when I asked them about it, it seems that my dad did something with it.... :( I was looking for a bed to match the dresser and chest that matched the original bed but it has been hard trying to find anything like them. I finally got sick of it and got a wooden toddler bed at Wal-Mart.

She was REALLY excited to have her New Bed!!! I was surprised because I thought that she really didn't care one way or the other. She has done really well. A few times she's gotten up in the night and come to our bed; once I didn't realize it until I woke up! ;) This is a lot better than her former way of getting out, to yell "MAMA!" until I woke up enough to come and get her.

Anyway, she really loves it and I bet your daughter will too. If you wanted to keep the crib for a while longer to save money or something, I'd say as long as the child is not too big for the bed it would not be a problem.

I have a son who is now almost 4. Like your daughter, he had no interest in climbing out of his crib and very much liked it. We are big fans of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" line of thought, so we let him decide when he was ready to move out of it. He finally decided he wanted to sleep in the big boy bed one day and the rest was history. So, for what it's worth, I don't think this is a battle to choose!

Good luck,

A. L.

I know I'm disagreeing with a lot of people here, but I see no reason why you should switch her out of her crib. Our second baby was born right after my oldest turned 3. He was still in his crib and we didn't want to move him out of it and make him feel "displaced" by his baby brother. So, we borrowed a friend's crib for our baby. Our oldest stayed in until about 3.5 with a transition time of his crib in his room as well as a mattress on the floor (something he wanted). Once he was comfortable just sleeping on the mattress, we but a big boy bed together for him. (Then our baby got the crib - after it was in no one's room for several months - and the one we borrowed went back to my friend who ended up pregnant with twins!)

So, I wouldn't stress about it. You have to do what is right for your family. And I don't see a problem with letting her stay in her crib. She'll let you know when she's ready to be in a big girl bed.

Good luck!
K.

I had a hard time with that my self. I had to just say the shes a big girl and to bad. You might have to do that.

I think it is up to the mom when to decide when you child is ready for a big girl bed. My daughter showed interest in climbing out of her crib around 2 so we got her a toddler bed. she was not happy w/ it at first and we let her sleep w/ us alot but her dad tried putting her new big girl bed in the same room as the crib so that she could see that she would still be sleeping in the same room. after about a week or so of starting out in the toddler bed and ending up in our bed she finally slept through the whole night by herself. but then i had to tackle the problem again after her father and i split up....i started by letting her sleep on the floor in her new room next to her bed. and i'm sure i'll get a lecture on this one but i let her have a tv in her room too that could have a timer set for 30min...we got in the routine of picking out a video and then she laid down and was usually out before the 30min was up. then one night she asked to sleep in her bed cause she was a big girl....now she participates in picking out the sheets for the bed and making it. i'm gonna have to go through this again really soon, cause i'm gonna have to switch her to a twin bed cause i have another one on the way. but give this method a try...it sounds corny but it worked for me.

Well, I don't think it's necessarily a big deal. There's the old saying if it ain't broke don't fix it. Ultimately, you are her mom and only YOU know what's best for her. If she's happy in her crib and fits comfortably in there, I don't think you have to rush out and get her a big girl bed. We moved my daughter into a regular bed when she was 2 and a half. Let's face it - she's not going to stay in that crib forever! Chances are that one day she will start to climb out and sooner or later she will get very cramped in there. So - here's what I would do. First, talk to her about it. Ask her if she would like to get a new bed. You can even show her some pictures of some new beds and bedding you may be considering and let her help you choose which type of bedding to get. If she says she doesn't like the bed and wants to stay in the crib, leave it alone. Then ask her again in a few weeks or months. When we moved my daughter to her bed - I bought a pretty comforter with ballerinas on it, painted her walls pink, just totally re-decorated the room. She was so excited about her new room and new bed, the first night she was asking to put her pajamas on at 7:00! So definitely make it a fun experience.

L. ,

I hope you are not doing anything wrong! I am the mom of a soon to be 3 year old( Dec 28) and she loves to sleep in her crib. She is extreamly active and she is on target to wear she should be. All of my friends say she will let us know what it is time for her to switch to her toddler bed. I think it is a safe feeling for them. She has always been easy to put to bed in her crib. I am more scared of the toddler bed then I am of her still being in her crib. I hear every sound now and since day one have been 1/2 awake when I am sleeping ( part of being a parent I am suer) so with her being able to get out of a toddler at any hour if she were to wake up at night makes me more uneasy.
I think each child is differnt and if your daughter has happy memories in her crib and enjoys being in it then keep her in it for as long as she will stay.

I believe it is time for a big girl bed. Go to a childs bed store and let her choose the bed she likes. That is what I would do anyway. Sounds like what it is is that her crib makes her feel secure. It might be difficult at first but I feel she will adjust. The best thing I feel you should do when making the transition is to let her stay with someone else while you break down her crib and take it out and while you put up her new bed. If you do not want to let her choose her own bed then try to choose a theme she likes. Like maybe barbie or princess or whatever she is into or loves. So lots of luck on the transition.

I think it is time to get her a big girl bed. Let her go with you to pick it out and make it a big deal that she is now growing up and she is becoming a big girl, so she gets a big girl bed. She will be fine in her big bed.

The only thing i have to say it let her stay in the crib if she wants but you have to check to see what the weight limit is for the crib and if you so want her to put her in a big girl bed let her go and pick it out that is what i did with my son and he picked out a cars bed. And he loves it

i think if she's happy it's fine. i'm sure when she starts preschool and finds that other kids are in "big beds" she will want to get one too! whenever you make the switch though, let her pick out her new comforter and sheets. i took my daughter to the store and just let her loose and she picked out a hello kitty comforter. that made her really excited to be in her "big girl bed"

I put my kids in big beds @ 1 yr. I'd get her to go with you and let her help you pick out her new bed, sheets, comforter, etc. That way she feels like she's helped and it hopefully will make the transition a little easier.Make sure to get side rails so she doesnt fall off again. Good Luck!!!!

Hi L., I do think it is time for her to be in a "big girl bed"
I think if you make it a big deal, have her in on buying the bed and picking out the bedding, she would probably enjoy it. Now saying that, she might really seem excited and ready to try out the bed , but it may be hard at first. It may or may not be hard for her to adjust, but make it a fun thing. If the bedding is a character or theme she really likes it might make her more comfortable safe, and happy in the new bed. They always seem to do better with grandma hehe

My son is 17 months, and even being big for his age (34 1/2 inches tall and 29 pounds) he hasn't shown any interest in leaving his crib. I know that he won't stay in a crib forever, my husband and I are trying for our next, so he won't be able to stay in it for to much longer. As long as she's happy, I wouldn't change it. You might want to try and get her interested in a big girl bed, but don't try to force it, she'll eventually want a big girl bed.